Picked up my new tractor today

[Philipwicker]

What do you guys think? I still have some time before my chicks are ready for the new dwelling place. I'm pretty excited about it.

 

[PlentywoodFarm]

Love it! We ordered ours, but there are so many orders piling in to the guy building them, we have to wait until May 1! How many chickens are you housing in it?

 

[Philipwicker]

Love it! We ordered ours, but there are so many orders piling in to the guy building them, we have to wait until May 1! How many chickens are you housing in it?

The guy who builds them suggests around 8-10. I'm kind of pushing the limit with 12 chicks..

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

Sorry but I don't even think 6 pullets would fit.
Even if they were to free range in your yard part of the day, I personally wouldn't put more than 4 in there.
You are definitely going to have feather picking and bullying going on if you try to cram 12 birds in there.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

its a cute little grow out coop for young chicks, but as said above it shouldnt be used for more than 3 - 4 grown hens unless you want to risk flock issues


over crowding == poor egg production, potential for illness, potential for injury

 

[Philipwicker]

its a cute little grow out coop for young chicks, but as said above it shouldnt be used for more than 3 - 4 grown hens unless you want to risk flock issues


over crowding == poor egg production, potential for illness, potential for injury

Well hell, I guess I jumped the gun then? Perhaps I should get another tractor, or give away some of my birds?

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

Do you need something aesthetically pleasing? If not, you could make a hoop coop. Well, some look better than others depending on building materials. Here's a pic of mine, its made out of cattle panels.


It's 8x10 and 5'8'' tall, you could make it shorter to give yourself more ground space. (And find a more attractive tarp, but hey it was on sale)

 

[PlentywoodFarm]

Philipwicker, I almost did the same thing! I didn't know anything about chickens, and I was going to buy a chicken coop that was advertised for 5-8 chickens. Since I just had 6, I thought it was perfect. I posted it on here, and everyone told me I would be lucky to get four bird in there. Luckily I was able to cancel the order and order another coop/run that would work for us (and was advertised for 12 birds!). As it turns out, most people who sell coops over exaggerate the number of birds that can fit in order to sell to more people!

From what I have been told on here, you should probably have at least 3-4 square feet of coop space per full size bird and 10 square feet of space in the run, which turns out to be a ton of space when you are talking about chicken tractors! I have heard hoop coops are a good compromise for bigger flocks.